This specification relates to controlled circuits in wireless networks and commissioning devices in the wireless networks.
Wireless network control systems are becoming more prevalent in commercial and residential use, particularly in the areas of automation and environmental control. Two recurring issues with introducing any form of wireless controls to any building system (such as lighting and HVAC) is the effort and cost associated with introducing control wiring and the associated commissioning required to set up the system. Wireless controls can help minimize the wiring requirements, but systems that fully integrate the wireless controls into the components that require control, e.g., the ballasts, or power supplies, are still in development. Furthermore, the vast majority of buildings are of “all copper” design, and thus it is not cost effective to entirely remove the existing wiring and replace it entirely with a wirelessly controlled system. Thus, a technique that is often used is to provide wireless adaptation. This typically takes the form of a device that adapts between the wireless domain and the existing wired domain. In the case of a ballast, this could take the form of a device that has a wireless transceiver and line voltage (and possibly say, 0-10V dimming wires) to the ballast, and logic to convert between the two domains.
FIGS. 1A-AC are block diagrams illustrating prior art lighting control systems 20, 40 and 60. The system 20 is of a wired design. It includes four ballasts 22 that are connected to a wall switch 24. The ballasts 22 can, for example, be lighting ballasts in a conference room that power fluorescent lights. The wall switch 24, in turn, is connected to a power source 26, e.g., a single phase AC power line. The wall switch 24 is a manually activated switch that provides a connection or breaks a connection to the power source 26.
The system 40 is a full wireless adaptation topology that interposes wireless adapters 44 between the power source 26 and each ballast 22. The wireless adapters 44 are powered by the power source 26, and a wireless switch device 42 controls the wireless adapters 44. The switch device 42 can also be powered by the power source 26, or can run on battery power. The system of FIG. 1B requires significant rewiring, which increases retrofitting costs, and also commits the building owner to wirelessly adapting all ballasts because the switch device 42 no longer controls the power coupling from the power source 26.
The system 60 illustrates a “lite” wireless adaptation. The topology of the system 60 is much simpler than that of the system 40, and has the benefit of requiring no wiring changes. The system 60 simply requires the replacement of the wall switch 24 with a wireless version 62. However, with the system 60, granular controls, e.g., different settings for different ballasts, cannot be achieved, and thus many of the advantages and flexibilities gained by wireless control systems cannot be achieved.
In addition to wiring and topology considerations, another issue that must be dealt with is commissioning. Commissioning is the process of setting up a wireless network. In its broadest sense, commissioning covers a wide range of tasks including surveying the radio and physical environment, placement of devices, configuration of parameters, and testing and verification of correct operation.
Commissioning tools are designed to facilitate commissioning of wireless networks for installers. The commissioning tools typically run on another wireless device with commissioning capabilities (e.g., device 46 of FIGS. 1B and 1C), or laptop or handheld device. The commissioning tools provide visualization of the network and devices, and provide options to configure, commission and manage the wireless system.
As the number of controlled circuits in a building increases, so does the commissioning process, as each of the wireless adapters needs to be commissioned onto a wireless network and assigned to the appropriate controllable zone for control. FIG. 2 is a block diagram 80 illustrating network controlled circuits arranged by zones and network segments 82, 84 and 86 according to a floor plan. The diagram 80 illustrates three wireless network segments (i.e., three independent wireless networks that are intended to be operated as part of the overall system). Devices that are on different wireless network segments cannot communicate to each other wirelessly, except by means of a gateway.
The segments each include multiple controlled circuits configured according to multiple zones, the latter of which are logical groupings of wireless devices that facilitates control of the devices as a single entity. The example zones including pairings of a single wireless switch to a single wireless adapter (e.g., zone 92), pairings of a single wireless switch to multiple wireless adapters (e.g., zone 94), and pairings of multiple wireless switches to multiple wireless adapters for two-way or multi-way switching (e.g., zones 96 and 98). The task of ensuring that wireless devices are on the correct wireless network segment and ensuring that device zones are properly assigned, even for a relatively modest number of adapters and switches, can become complex and labor intensive. Manual methods of sequentially identifying each device, and then assigning them to a zone, exist but are extremely time consuming and labor intensive.